Bloodhoof Strength- Part 1 (Patreon)

In a return to more epic stories, Baine Bloodhoof, High Chieftain of the Tauren, starts looking to beef up his stature, now that Azeroth is at peace... Enjoy, everyone!

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Strength. It was a word that the Horde had wrestled with for years, now. Of the many races across Azeroth, few could were gifted as much raw strength as the Tauren- the biggest of all the Horde races, Tauren warriors, paladins, and braves were capable of terrifying power- but the bull-like Tauren practiced great restraint. The Tauren of Thunder Bluff in particular preferred peaceful lives on the green fields and rocky mesas of Mulgore, living in harmony with nature and honoring the Earth Mother. But there were those who said this desire for peace had made the Tauren of Thunder Bluff weak- some of those critics were even close allies, leaders amongst the Orcs of Orgrimmar. Every criticism fell heavy on the ears of Thunder Bluff's High Chieftain, Baine Bloodhoof. Baine was the son of Cairne, the High Chieftain who had brought the Tauren into the Horde, and had served as a paragon of his kind for years. It was a big shadow to get out from under, and Baine was troubled that he had fallen short in recent years. His desire to keep the peace in Thunder Bluff had led to no small amount of mistakes- and he had sat in indecision too long when unworthy people had taken control of the Horde, and led them all down an evil path.

But what was he supposed to do about it now? Should he do anything about it now? The Horde was reunited after casting off the rule of Sylvanas Windrunner, and it seemed that, with the return of Thrall, the Horde might finally be in good hands again. But then, Baine had rested easy after the fall of Garrosh Hellscream- and Sylvanas took over not two years later, after Vol'jin's unfortunate death. It was clear that, whoever ended up leading the Horde next, he needed to be more active.

He was musing over these thoughts in his hall, and then looked about- on the walls were all the totems of the tribes sworn to the Bloodhoof, and one place stood empty, its tribal totem blighted and scratched out; the seat of the Grimtotem. The Grimtotem tribe had, in a twisted sense, put Baine where he was today- their chieftain, Magatha, had poisoned the weapon that struck his father Cairne, and killed him. Ever since, the tribe had been exiled, but no new tribe or clan had risen to take their place. It was a wound, a scar in Mulgore, that had never been properly healed.

Baine stood, rubbing his chin as he thought deeper. He moved to the entrance of his hall, and spoke to the Braves posted there as his honor guard. "Send word to the Elders' Rise- tell the druids and shamans I wish to speak with them."

Soon, the wizened Tauren elders were assembled. Some were wise shamans and spiritual leaders of their people; others were powerful wardens of nature that served the Earth Mother more directly, as druids. Baine, a seasoned warrior and Brave, towered over most of them- but for their combined wisdom and power, he felt small in their presence.

"The last vestiges of Sylvanas and Garrosh's legacy has been washed away from the Horde- and with that finished, I want to turn my attention to my own people, for a time. This hall has had an empty spot for too long- it's time the Grimtotem were brought back into the fold."

There was a stunned silence. Bashana Runetotem, a powerful druid and daughter of the great Hamuul Runetotem, was the first to speak. "Chief Baine, you would invite Magatha back to Thunder Bluff? After all her treachery?"

Baine held up a hand. "No. She can never be forgiven for her crimes- not by me. I do not want Magatha- I want the Grimtotem."

A shaman with dark eyes, Jevan, looked troubled. He had been a Grimtotem, but had denounced Magatha's treachery and sworn loyalty to Thunder Bluff. "You wish to… subjugate them, then? Conquer the Grimtotem?"

"That is not our way, either," Baine replied. "No. The Grimtotem respect strength before all else, but I will not call on the Braves of Thunder Bluff to die for my ambition- not when there's another way. The Horde has seen a few Mak'gora, the Orc practice of challenging unworthy leaders in duels of honor. But in our own history, there are stories of chiefs of rival tribes entering into duels to end disputes between their people- this is what I propose. Magatha is no fool, and she knows that she cannot afford to lose favor with her followers by turning down a fight when someone challenges her leadership. I will be that challenge. A simple duel of honor, for the leadership of both Grimtotem and Bloodhoof tribes- she can't resist that offer."

The Council of Elders were shocked into silence. "You would risk Magatha becoming High Chieftain?" Bashana gaped. "Chief Baine, the Council of Elders will never go along with this plan! And what of the Horde?"

"It's only a risk if I think I'll lose." Baine smirked. He stood tall, crossing his thickly roped arms over his broad chest. "I have faced worse than Magatha in the years since the Cataclysm. I do not consider myself a proud warrior, not like my father- I know I have made mistakes. I have hesitated where I should have been bold- but now, I'm tired of waiting to react to fate's whims, to merely begin building a canoe when the floodwaters are already upon us. Let us take the chance to make the Tauren stronger and more united now. As for the Horde- I remain loyal to our allies, to our friends. But for too long we've followed. With no Warchief to direct us, let us chart our own path- still defenders of the Horde, but those that can stand on our own." He paused, looking over the druids and shamans. "What do you say? Do I have your support?"

Slowly, some of the Tauren Elders stood. They thumped their chests with their fists and bowed their heads- they would stand with Baine. Things moved at a brisk pace after that; a messenger was dispatched to the Grimtotem settlement of Darkcloud Pinnacle; Baine Bloodhoof was declaring himself chief of the Grimtotem by right of their vow of loyalty to Thunder Bluff, and Magatha was given the opportunity to swear loyalty, or fight for her title. Her reply was blunt: "We will fight at Red Rocks." Magatha's flare for audacity had not been dulled with age; the Red Rocks were sacred, and where Cairne had been cremated. Baine glowered, turning to Jevan.

"I had hoped fighting with the Earthen Ring would have softened her- tell her I accept."

Baine spent the next few days in rigorous training. He was talented with maces and warhammers, preferring to use heavy strikes to overwhelm his foes. Jevan, who knew Magatha better than anyone in Thunder Bluff, watched his chief closely. He was powerful, strong- a spitting image of his father. But Magatha had killed Cairne all the same.

"Baine- a moment?" Jevan grumbled, as the tauren drove his hammer into the target, splintering wood with his blow. His dappled brown fur was sleek and matted, his polished horns crusty with mud, and his braided hair coming undone- he had been at this for a long time.

"What can I do for you, Jevan?" Baine grunted, pulling his weapon free.

"Baine, I fear this match will be your folly. Grimtotems don't fight fair- they fight to win."

The larger tauren grinned darkly. "I know. Which is why I was about to send for you- I've faced down the Legion with the Champions of Azeroth, and pushed back the quillboar, the centaurs, and mawborn here at Thunder Bluff. My chances against Magatha are already good, I would wager. But I want to hedge my bets further. Tell me- how does Magatha prepare for a fight? What is her usual strategy?"

Jevan thought for a moment. "She will have already sent spies all throughout Thunder Bluff." He glanced suspiciously at the Braves posted around the proving grounds. "They would be watching you, reporting back to her."

Baine leaned in. "I figured as much," he grunted. "Which is why I am going to stay here. Magatha looks down on honorable folk- and I hope, Jevan, I have proved myself honorable."

The loyal Grimtotem Tauren sighed. "Just like your father," he said, his voice heavy with worry.

The chieftain's grin tightened. "Magatha won't expect anything but what her spies report. She will have meticulous plans right up to the very end where she smothers me with earth, drowns me in water, and commands the winds to steal the very air from my lungs. I like to think I've learned the value of keeping secrets and a respect for subtlety, surviving under Sylvanas. I'm sending you to Orgrimmar, to report the duel to the council. Then, I want you to go to the auction house. I need Elixirs of Giant Growth, or, failing that, Darkmoon Water."

Jevan arched his brow, and studied Baine for a moment, but said nothing. Reading the Grimtotem's face, Baine elaborated. "Many adventurers that have aided our people have used this- a burst of energy, strength, and size. I'll use the elixir before entering the sacred grounds, and surprise Magatha. Anything is permitted that does not sabotage our opponent before entering the ring- and I have opted to give myself an edge. She's a meticulous planner, but she's not very good at improvising her plans at a moment's notice, is she? See how quickly he was driven out of Thunder Bluff when her part in my father's death was discovered."

Realization dawned on the black tauren. "Indeed, my chief. She is not." The more he thought on it, the more Jevan felt this plan had real merit. "Chief Baine, this may just work."

Baine chuckled, patting Jevan on the back. "Have faith, my friend. Have faith."

The day of the fight dawned with a red sky- a portent for blood being spilled. Shamans of both the Grimtotem and Bloodhoof tribes inspected the Red Rocks for any signs of treachery, and both concluded the sacred grounds met to their satisfaction. Baine sat in a tent prepared for him, two Braves equipping him with his chieftain's feathered headdress, but he set aside his armor. Baine was trying not to let himself grow nervous- Jevan hadn't come yet, and his scouts had reported the last goblin zeppelin from Orgrimmar was running late.

Bashana entered, the druid's brow furrowed. "Chief Baine, Magatha is ready. She demands to know when you will enter the ring of honor."

Baine held up a hand. "Tell her I will be there, before the sun reaches its zenith."

Bashana nodded, and left. The Braves looked to their Chief. "Should we get you in your armor, my Chief?"

The large tauren shook his head. "No. Not yet. Give me a moment alone- I'll seek guidance from my father's spirit."

The Braves nodded. They saluted Baine and left him alone with his thoughts. Kneeling down, Baine meditated, seeking out his father's presence. "Father- we have never been a people that eagerly seek vengeance. But I hope in fighting Magatha and making Mulgore whole again, I do honor to your memory- and deliver justice where it should be given."

He was silent for a moment, his long ears twitching. There was no response. Or perhaps the gentle breeze rippling through his tent was a sign?

A Brave stuck his head into the tent. "Chief Baine, Jevan Grimtote has arrived and insists on seeing you."

Baine breathed a sigh of relief, looking up in a sign of gratitude to his father's spirit, and turned back to the Brave. "Send him in."

Jevan was quickly hustled inside, hiding something underneath a heavy cloak. "I would have been here sooner- damnable goblins," he growled. "Charged me extra for an 'express ticket' and still got me here late!"

"Do you have it?" Baine asked.

Jevan nodded, and produced a few large glass bottles filled with bright red liquid. "Elixirs of Giant Growth- as many as I could get."

Baine took the elixir, and glanced to Jevan. "Here's to you, Jevan. It's my hope you will feast with your brethren again this night, united under one banner."

Jevan dared a smile, thumping his chest in salute. "My Chief."

Baine uncorked the elixir, and drank it all down. There was a tense pause, but then, his weight shifted. Baine gasped, and then roared as adrenaline pumped through his body. He curled his fingers into fists and stamped his hooves, making Jevan cautiously step aside- the Tauren Chief had begun to grow. With each stomp, the ground shook- his legs thickened, muscle rippling as it pushed against his leathery hide, until they were thick as the trunks of the largest pines in Mulgore, and as well-sculpted as the grandest Tauren totem pole. He huffed, his chest filling out, advancing further and further with each breath, until his pectoral muscles were like a mighty canyon, jutting far out over the heavy, bloated abs packed tightly around his torso. His back flared out, heaving flanks of bulging muscle snapping the leather straps of his chiefly raiments. His shoulders rolled and unfurled, pressing the feathers of his headdress up- at last his arms, as if being coiled by thicker and thicker rope, grew denser and heavier, veins tracing over the immense peak of his biceps.

"Chief Baine…?" Jevan asked, looking over the engorged Tauren- and up. Baine's horns were puncturing holes in the tent, he had grown so large. "How do you feel?"

Catching his breath, Baine steadied himself- he felt so much heavier, he could feel the weight and space he took up- but also the raw, boundless reserves of power coursing through his body. "I feel…" He raised up an arm, his tricep like an anvil, and curled, watching the muscles contract and bulge mightily. "I feel ready to fight."

Magatha had the look, at first glance, of a harmless old woman- a tauren with black fur dappled with streaks of grey and silver, bent over with age- but her dark, sharp eyes burned intensely. The ground trembled at her passing, so strong were her shamanic powers. All gave her a wide berth as she entered the sacred grounds for the fight. "Where is Chief Baine?" She demanded, her voice raspy and swift as a cold blast of wind. "Where is Cairne's whelp, so I may end this farce?"

To answer her, warhorns bellowed, and the ground shook- Magatha's eyes went wide at Baine's approach. The Tauren had always been large, even for his kind, but now he was a titan. The heavy muscle packed densely on his frame made him look like a juggernaut that could crack the mesas of Mulgore, if he chose. He wore no armor, merely his chieftain's headdress, a strap that traversed the immense breadth of his torso, and a loincloth girded with the belt of Thunder Bluff's Chief.

"What sorcery is this?" Magatha spat. "Have the mighty Bloodtotem been reduced to illusions and tricks to win their battles?"

"I have trained long and hard," Baine spoke, his deep voice booming and echoing off the Red Rocks. "As your spies will tell you- the results speak for themselves," he grunted, hefting up his arms to flex, biceps rising up like hills and his back flaring out like wings. "I have bested Champions of the Burning Legion and survived the horrors lurking in the jungles of Zandalar. I have grown, Magatha- and I'm ready to defeat you."

The Grimtotem matriarch hesitated- this was not in the plan.

Baine pushed the advantage, stomping into the sacred ring, showing the fight had begun. "You can still swear loyalty, Magatha. I will recognize your honorable conduct- but if you turn and leave these sacred grounds now, your name and tribe will forever be dishonored."

Magatha spat. "Foolish whelp! I command the elements- and the Grimtotem will command Thunder Bluff by day's end!"

Lightning smote the ground, as angry clouds billowed overhead, summoned by Magatha. Baine had to be quick- he was a larger target, now. Lightning bolts smote the ground, the air hazy and pulsing with their electric power. One finally hit their mark- Baine bellowed, and stumbled. The electric, crackling pain was immense- but Baine grit his teeth, tensing his powerful muscles, almost flexing off the lightning as he willed himself back to his feet.

"Sylvanas… caused me more pain… with her cutting words," he spat, huffing to catch his breath.

"Impossible!" Magatha swore. She summoned up towering earth elementals, beings fused with molten rock and stone, and urged them to charge Baine. The hulking Tauren rushed to meet them, holding his mace aloft- he bought his weapon down in a crushing blow on one elemental, shattering its head, and then wrapped his arms around the other- biceps dug deep into the stone, his chest puffing out, and he squeezed. Roaring in defiance, Baine squeezed with all his might, until the stone cracked and burst apart in face of the surging tidal wave of muscle.

"Curse you!" the Grimtotem shouted. She summoned water and ice, but Baine cut through these as well, slashing through the water and crushing the ice under his unstoppable advance. Magatha in a panic summoned a ring of fire around her, and this caused Baine to pause. Seeing a chance, Magatha summoned more fire, throwing balls of flame at the Chieftain. He dodged as best he could, but the Grimtotem's assault was relentless. Crouching down, the muscles in his powerful legs coiled, his immense thighs tightening- and he leapt. Baine cleared the ring of fire Magatha summoned, the flames licking at his fur, and he hurtled towards her, crashing into the ground like a comet. The impact cratered the ground, and Baine stood, Magatha in his iron-like grip. He had her ensnared in the same grapple he had used to crush her earth elemental to dust.

"Surrender, and you will have your life!" Baine growled. "All I have to do is squeeze."

Magatha narrowed her eyes, even as she struggled against the Tauren's overwhelming strength. "You wouldn't- you're Cairne's whelp! You wouldn't dare!"

Baine tightened his hold, but he glowered at Magatha. She was right. Even when he had her in his grasp, he couldn't bring himself to kill if it wasn't necessary- not even his father's murderer. He dropped her, and, while still looming over her, the sun itself eclipsed by his immense size, he roared, bringing his fists down on her- Magatha let out a cry of fear and recoiled, but after a moment she opened her eyes again- Baine's fists were on either side of her, having cracked the earth on either side. Baine, glaring daggers at Magatha, still loomed over her.

"I can't bring myself to kill you in cold blood," he snarled. "But I will end your reign. Here and now." He grabbed her by the scruff of her cloaks, hoisting her up in the air like a misbehaving pup. "Grimtotem! Look here! Magatha promised to lead you to glory- she promised that the strong would always lead the Grimtotem! But look at her now. She fears death, when I was always told Grimtotem fear nothing! You want a strong leader- look at me! I can crack the earth with my bare hands, and withstand the furies of the elements. I have made mistakes in my time as a chief- but I have never been accused of cowardice." He balled his fist and thumped it against his shield-sized chest. "Come back to Thunder Bluff, Grimtotem. We will restore your honor, and reach new glories for our people- together! Or," he dropped Magatha like a sack of flour, and palmed his fist- his pumped arms slammed against his chest, bloated muscle jostling bloated muscle. "I will fight any other champion of the Grimtotem that dares to enter this ring."

The assembled Grimtotem shaman and warriors balked. One by one, they knelt down. Baine pumped his fist in the air. "For Mulgore!"

"For Mulgore!" came the thundering reply. Baine breathed easy, looking again at his augmented body- he was already thinking of how to keep the Tauren tribes united now that he had brought them together, and his next plan would require more strength than the elixirs could provide...